Posted 10 years ago
katherines…
(247 items)
My family, I realize looking back, had a lot of glass around the house which I did not appreciate. I can't tell you how many gaudy bits of glass and figurines went out the door, given to people, stolen, or sold in yard sales for a dollar or less that now when I see them online I realize were quite valuable. Why this particularly loud orange ashtray, the one in the first photo, stayed behind, or where it even came from, is unclear; I know I thought a lot of times about chucking it. I found out it was Murano maybe a year ago when I was researching something else and came across a photograph of an ashtray that looked nearly exactly like mine with the exception of the color. I tracked my glass to a site that sells Murano, and found that in perfect condition it wasn't worth much, sixty dollars. Mine has a chip under the rim. I'm not overly fond of it, except that it gives me bragging rights: It's Murano.*
Recently I found out that the yellow bowl in the second photo is Italian art glass, matching it, again by pure accident while researching something else, to a set of three identical nesting bowls posted online with the sticker still attached. I think my bowl may have been a yard sale buy for a buck or less. I liked how it looked different every way I turned it, from a straight on angle very bold and molten, from the top nicely swirl patterned, from the bottom distorted by those odd little fins.
The third photo, the pink bowl, is the least valuable. I bought it at a thrift store for a dollar, even knowing it had a crack in the underside of one of the delicate arms. But I liked everything about it, and could imagine displaying and using it in my home. The ID came from here on CW as Lavorazione, and since then I've seen one or two other pieces posted that I wouldn't be surprised to find come from the same maker.
The point of this thread is to say that I am trying to learn the differences in quality and to develop an eye, but I don't think I'll ever become an expert collector of art glass. The joy of Collector's Weekly is to be able to admire from a distance. The joy of personal collecting is to keep the things I love regardless of their marketplace value.
*Unless someone proves differently, I am fairly confident this is Murano.
They are all beautiful... Isn't it crazy how we got rid of things that now we wish we had kept?
Hi
katherinescollections
Beautiful, I love all...of them:-)
Alan
Thank you, Alan, glad you love them! :)
Thanks for the love, aghcollect, walksoftly, DrFluffy, robin56, Manikin, and sklo42. :)
DrFluffy, every time I come across something I recognize from our house when we were kids, I wonder where it all went. Crazy is right.
Nice post Katherine and you are so right in your assessment when it comes to collecting. :)
lovely -- all of them !! Dead on ID. Yes we had many art glass pieces in our home too. Never cared much for it growing up. Then for .50 cent one day many I bought this piece:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/118348-what-started-me-on-a-murano-glass-journe
So that started my Love affair with Murano.
Yes, Well Said Katherine. We are here to admire, adorn, love, enjoy, and maybe learn a bit from others. In my opinion, that is what Collectors *LOVE* to do. Share their items, and their knowledge. Just spent the weekend sitting around at a Trade Show with all sorts of Collectors of sorts. Some collectors for years....some not so long. We were all visiting, talking, laughing and enjoying each other knowledge and stories. What a GREAT TIME !! Just like here.
Thanks for the love, PatSea, mikelv85, antiquerose, and vetraio50. :)
PatSea, my brother and I broke a lot of pieces when we were kids, too. I look at the stuff posted on here and while researching, and remember that we had this piece or that piece in the house. It's a wonder to think of all the things, and to wish for them back.
mikelv, it's as much a practical matter as a philosophical assessment. I can't ever learn or acquire as much knowledge, and glass, as some on here, and that's okay. My life is about other things. Admiring the things I admire, enjoying the joy of others, and sharing in their knowledge, learning what I can, it's all part of the journey.
antiquerose, I look forward to reading your thread after I post this comment. Yes, I think that as collectors, or let me speak for myself, as a collector, I keep very little of the things I acquire. It gives me great joy to sell something to people who will love what I have to offer them, just as it gives me pleasure to look every day and often at the new postings on Show & Tell, to read about all your daily adventures, your passion and excitement, your hopes of uncovering treasures, your disappointments and your exceeded expectations. I share all these things with you and it makes me feel a part of our common experience. To be with people who collect, that is a good thing, for me a very good thing.
Great post and responses Katherine!
Thanks for the love, racer4four, and thank you for the nice compliment. :)
Thanks for the love, fixitjmc. :)
Thanks for the love, CindB. :) And I did actually think of you, and others on here, when I was writing it. This little community of collectors, gathered here at CW, we are so lucky to have this place to share our treasures and thoughts and knowledge with each other, and to hear each others' stories. Gotta love it. :)
Thanks for the love, eye4beauty, and PhilDavidAlexanderMorris. :)
Eye4beauty, thanks for your comment and for sharing your story. Insofar as I can develop any talent, read and learn, yes, and I think I have learned a lot from the very knowledgeable posters on CW. And presumably "better" pieces will start to come my way as I learn to identify them. As for myself, my collection interests run in a different direction. :)
Ah if we had two natural lifetimes ... :)
Thanks Katherine for your Post. Glad that you are able to let go of your items to New homes. I AM working on that......LOL
I have a hard time letting go of things. Once I find something and to let it go -- Well I almost go through a *grieving* process. Does that sound strange?? I been the collector in the family for about 35 years. I was always looking for treasures, and knew down the road they would be worth more. You keep finding thing.......year after year.....then your parents die, your grandparent. You have Estate things to go through. You feel *emotionally attached* to ALL your family items. You add this into your home. Things start to add up. You realize that you have to start to down-size.
I use to get that thrill finding a treasure -- Now I try to reverse that feeling when I down-size. I find I can still get a thrill *seeing* it going to a New home. Seeing that you can tell another new owner about its history - its story that you have dug/researched about. That brings a thrill to me.......
I found it, I had it -- Time to let go of it.
It's hard -- but I realize I can not keep all my found treasures......such is life
stunning antiquerose!!
Thanks for the love, SEAN68. :)
antiquerose, thanks so much for that post, and for sharing how you feel about collecting, and parting with your collections. Yes, such is life.
Thanks for the love, melaniej. :)
Thanks for the love, Trey. :)
Thanks for the love, agram.m, Vladimir, and Moonstonelover21. :)
#2 is my fav.........
Thanks for the love, Truthisanarrow08, and Wildchild01. :)
Truth, thank you, it is a pretty piece of glass for sure. :)
Thanks for the love, DrFluffy. :)
GORGEOUS
Thanks for the love, clockerman, and for your nice compliment. :)
Wow, i am sorry, i comment 5 month ago and forget to push the love, i am bad.....;-(
Alan
Thanks for the love, Alan, you are always welcome on my threads. :)